Parakeet pair make home in Wolverhampton park

Visitors to West Park have been treated to the unusual site of the striking green birds nesting in a tree near the boating lake.

The distinctive red-beaked birds have become a regular site around London in recent years, with more than 50,000 of them congregating in the parks of the nation's capital.

But there have been very few sightings in the Black Country.

Keen amateur wildlife photographer Simon Crutchley, 48, from Fordhouses, visited the park to capture this shot of the petting parrots after being tipped off by one of his friends.

"I didn't see them at first but after about 20 minutes they appeared in flight," said Mr Crutchley, a support worker by trade.

"It was a fantastic sight. I've certainly never seen anything like it in this area. They are nesting at the moment and breed quite quickly. Parakeets are a truly beautiful sight in flight and have a really unusual, distinctive call. What a lovely addition to the wildlife in the park."

There are a number of colourful theories as to how parakeets came to settle in the Uk, such as the urban legend that a pair of birds escaped from a container at Heathrow airport, or from Shepperton Studios in west London during filming of The African Queen in 1951.

But ornithology experts say a stable food supply of berries, seeds, fruit and nuts - along with their history in colder mountain climates - means they feel at home in Britain.

Although parakeets usually live for up to eight years in captivity, they can survive for around 20 years in the wild.

Mr Crutchley added: "It would be nice to think that in a few years parakeets could become a more regular sight around Wolverhampton."

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